Letters to Hungary
2 February 2014
As Hungarians prepare for the next general election in a few weeks time, the political temperature is rising. Already, the first salvos in what is likely to be an acrimonious campaign have been fired, although as of yet there have been few casualties.
3 september 2013
In recent days, the Socialists and the recently manufactured party of former Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai have cobbled together an electoral pact of sorts. Agreement has been reached on the division of seats available to each for contesting in the next election and agreement on mutual support, where appropriate.
8 March 2013
The Financial Times (FT) continued its anti-Hungarian agenda this week with a well-timed assault on the country’s Prime Minister just as he was about to meet Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel. In an ill tempered and hectoring editorial, the newspaper called for the EU to withdraw Hungary’s voting rights in retaliation for Hungary continuing to defy Brussels regarding the new Hungarian constitution. For the FT, the Hungarian government is demonstrating non-European values.
15 January 2013
Until the next election in 2014, Hungarian politics, at least superficially, will look the same as before. The opposition will seek to reverse their decline and reintroduce their particular form of government, although it is unlikely that the shape of their policies will be known for some time, if at all.
19 June 2012
The Hungarian Parliament recently debated the achievements of the first two years of the current Fidesz administration. For many commentators, this was to be the first salvo in a battle for the hearts and minds of the Hungarian electorate, just at a time when a number of them were indicating that a political swing was underway against the government.
6 January 2012
As an avid reader of the Financial Times (FT), I was staggered by the paper’s coverage of Hungarian affairs this week. In short, it seemed like a systematic assault on the policies of the Hungarian Government and a smear campaign against the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.
4 January 2012
In recent days, a number of prominent UK media outlets, including The Financial Times, Guardian, Economist and the BBC have included articles on the current political situation in Hungary. In essence, the reporting has focused on the increased criticism of the Hungarian government from both inside and outside the country. In some respects, it was reminiscent of the media’s coverage of Hungarian affairs this time last year, particularly when Hungary assumed the Presidency of the EU. The big issue then was the introduction of a new media law – today, the cause is the public demonstrations against a myriad of complaints about either new policies or new laws.
28 October 2011
The decision of Ferenc Gyurcsány to leave the Hungarian Socialist Party, along with another nine Socialist MPs, has signalled the meltdown of the political Left in Hungary.
28 June 2011
Since January 2011, the Hungarian government has been criticized for a number of political initiatives, ranging from the introduction of a new media law – which had the European Union up in arms – to the introduction of a new constitution, which has irked the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.